--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The two persons, longing, as all…" description: "\"“The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all are heir as individuals, can participate i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg" --- # The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to… ![“The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all are heir as individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not made up of two isolated, individual experiences, but a genuine union.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg) > ““The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all are heir as individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not made up of two isolated, individual experiences, but a genuine union.”” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans seek connection to escape isolation, forming a true partnership that transcends individual experience. **In simple terms:** People desire deep bonds that overcome loneliness. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine relationships. Themes connection loneliness union Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - team projects - intimate partnerships - community building Key Concepts existential psychology authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you move beyond self‑isolation? - What steps foster authentic partnership? A Different Perspective True union requires effort and vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Separateness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separateness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Tenderness emerges from the fact that the two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/tenderness-emerges-from-the-fact-that-the-two-persons-longing-as-all/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The deepest need of the human being is to overcome our separateness, to leave the prison of our loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-deepest-need-of-the-human-being-is-to-overcome-our-separateness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The deepest need of man, then, is the need to overcome his separateness, to leave the prison of his aloneness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-deepest-need-of-man-then-is-the-need-to-overcome-his-separateness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Basically, there can only be two answers. One is to overcome separateness and find unity by regression to the state of unity which existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/basically-there-can-only-be-two-answers-one-is-to-overcome/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The "pathology of normalcy" rarely deteriorates to graver forms of mental illness because society produces the antidote against such deterioration. When pathological processes become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pathology-of-normalcy-rarely-deteriorates-to-graver-forms-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The sick individual finds himself at home with all other similarly sick individuals. The whole culture is geared to this kind of pathology. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-sick-individual-finds-himself-at-home-with-all-other-similarly-2/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Anything that takes you out of the context of being separate is healing. Anything that takes you out of the context of separateness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/anything-that-takes-you-out-of-the-context-of-being-separate-is/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-an-active-power-in-man-a-power-which-breaks-through-the-walls/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Surrender — the letting go of mental-emotional resistance to what is — also becomes a portal into the Unmanifested. The reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/surrender-the-letting-go-of-mental-emotional-resistance-to-what-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Good is that which makes for unity. Evil is that which makes for separateness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/good-is-that-which-makes-for-unity-evil-is-that-which-makes-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Everything is connected and exists only one Separateness that is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/everything-is-connected-and-exists-only-one-separateness-that-is-an/) Senoraroy > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Loneliness quotes > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I'm not alone, but I am lonely without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-alone-but-i-am-lonely-without-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-opposite-of-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We often refer to loneliness as something negative. And we look at it as a weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/we-often-refer-to-loneliness-as-something-negative-and-we-look-at-it/) [Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Don't let 'being single' make you feel like a loner. Its better to be alone. Relationships arent cures for loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-being-single-make-you-feel-like-a-loner-its-better-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) [Browse all 4,995 Loneliness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all are heir as individuals, can participate in a relationship that, for the moment, is not made up of two isolated, individual experiences, but a genuine union.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rollo May" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individuals-do-to-overcome-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Loneliness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individuals-do-to-overcome-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/rollo-may-1295_loneliness_the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individua_2447180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The two persons, longing, as all individuals do, to overcome the separateness and isolation to which we all…” — Rollo May", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rollo May", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The two persons, longing, as all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individuals-do-to-overcome-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-two-persons-longing-as-all-individuals-do-to-overcome-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```